And They Said It Was Love
by switmikan74
Summary: Chapter 3: When people see Kouki, they had a penchant for telling him they love him because a certain captain told them to do so. And Akashi was never a man you want to mess with, especially if he is a murderous captain in love. AkaFuri
1. A Cup Of Coffee

**Title: And They Said It Was Love**

 **Chapter Title: A Cup Of Coffee**

 **Pairing: Broken AoKuro, Future KagaKuro**

 **Rant Section:** Heeeyyy. Hi, peps. I had this plot bunny for more than a semester now. But it had been stuck for so much debate with myself—because I am crazy like that and because I had fallen in love again with the Perfect Pairing, Tezuka and Fuji. I thought of writing many one-shots about them. But I guess, I'm more comfortable with reading them than really writing about them—I tried but I ruined Tezuka, I ruined him. I cry. Anyway, you'll be reading a lot from me again with my favorite pairings: AkaFuri, KagaKuro, KiseMatsu, AoSaku, MidoTaka, MuraMuro.

P. S. One shots from here on out are song inspired, with all the love, D.

P. P. S. It does not necessarily meant that I am going to write things lyrics per lyrics. I just meant it will be inspired by A.) its lyrics B.) its title or C.) both.

Shouts.

A scream.

A breaking sound.

Noises. Too many noises around him—blaring, deafening—too much, so much.

And then it all stops. Suddenly, too suddenly, it all stops. And he tilts his head a little to the side, break into a shaky smile, blue eyes boring holes into deep indigos. Shakily, he held his hand up to touch dark skin—a far contrast to his—and it was so close to his fingers when suddenly, too suddenly, it flinches away and he had to drop his hand down to prevent from looking even more of an idiot than he was right now.

"Daiki…?" His voice was a bit hoarse, breaking at the end. The indigo orbs he was looking hid behind tired lids and Aomine sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

"I'm sorry."

Kuroko blinks when a hand waved in front of him before stepping a small step back when he caught an unfamiliar face closing on him, red orbs curiously peering at him.

"Are you okay?" He was tall with a messy deep red hair that gets even deeper at the end that made them looked black, a strange pair of eyebrows, a deep voice, and a deep frown marring his angry-looking face.

For a second, Kuroko defines him deep before the guy opened his mouth again and he was glad to call the man a simple guy, one bordering idiocy.

"I ain't buying you a coffee, dude. It wasn't my fault you were standing in the way of my ball."

And cheap. Not thrifty—CHEAP. He had an urge to emphasize that and he doesn't have a clue why.

He scoffed, picking up his wasted cup—thanking God that he did not spill any on himself because the coffee was really, really hot.

"Excuses." He quietly hisses before walking away, thrusting the empty wet cup on the basketball player's large hands as he did so.

Kagami looked at the petite man and scratched his head with his free hand before shrugging and running back to the street court that he was just playing at.

"What took you so long?" He heard his brother ask but his only answer was shooting the empty cup to a nearby open trash bin earning him the second scoff of the day and this time it was from his own sibling.

* * *

The second time he met the guy, he was reading a book in the park on a Sunday morning.

It wasn't much of a meeting but he remembers those deep red eyes and deep red hair that goes a little bit deeper at the ends and strange pair of eyebrows and with the deep voice and an even deeper frown on his face.

And the very fact that the man was a cheap bastard with no manners whatsoever.

It was a brief meeting, really—one that you really can't call a meeting.

He was sitting at the far end of the park where no one really likes to sit much and he was reading a novel that his friend, Kouki, had recommended since his lover, Akashi, had written it. It was a good novel but he doesn't really believe in destiny much—probably because the man he had loved since middle school had left him a decade later when they had promised a lifetime. Life, ha?

He was getting at the good part too when suddenly noises invaded the silence—a scream cutting through the peacefulness and he frowns because he never like noises and he never will. He had to pause from his reading when the shout began to get louder; a glance up made him raised an eyebrow.

He recognized that everything on the cheap bastard.

It was really just a second or two when he looked up from the book to see a rather big man—the cheap bastard—running away from a rather small dog. And another second to flinch when said bastard knocked his coffee on his pants. And another one to curse quietly as he stood up to trudge home, not even bothering to look back when he heard a loud "FUCK!" in the distance.

It was the highlight of his day. Even if he had to walk seven blocks with a wet pants.

* * *

Kagami saw the petite man again when he was out on his daily jog one Thursday morning.

He was just sitting there at the far end of the park. He was just rounding the corner when he noticed how small the man was in his too large of a winter coat but he shrugged it off and continued jogging as the man took a sip of a warm cup of whatever beverage he had.

It was not until Sunday the same week when he figured out that the man likes to read on the same spot every day with a cup to keep him warm. He stared at the retreating back with wide curious eyes before screaming hell to the small dog below him.

It was adrenaline rash that saved him and made him climb a tree—he was proud of adrenaline rash so much.

A bark of the dog startled him from his thoughts and he fell, "FUCK!"

* * *

He knew he shouldn't be doing this but heaven knows how he tried so hard not to. His hands doesn't tremble as much as the first time they do nor did his eyes water at the very thought of his Daiki's someone new.

He leaned back tiredly on the wall and he was just so glad that even with the years they had been counting, Daiki never gotten used to his invisibility—everyone never did. So, he could stare at the both of them as much as he can as they eat merrily inside the café they used to visit.

He wanted to believe that Sakurai-san was a home wrecker—a bitch, a conniving manipulative man who stole lovers every single day—but as the months pass by and his growing empty eyes stare so enviously at them, he knew that the man was anything but.

He gave a small almost nonexistent smile to the couple when Daiki stop talking and just stared at the blabbering blushing mess. Sakurai never even knew that he existed.

"Hey! It's you again!" He gave a startled gasp, dropping the book in his hand. Large hands pick the book up and he took it gratefully—it wasn't until their eyes met that he was brought out of his thoughts.

"Ah." He said as he saw the cheap bastard from before. The said man grinned at him and Kuroko almost choked on air at the sudden difference that one grin could make—he looks brighter than the previous encounters they had.

"What are ya doin' here? Isn't it cold out here?" He remembers his deep voice that grumbles like a thunder at the end. He only shrugged, eyes trying to see the two over the large man's shoulder but he failed. The man was too tall for his own height.

"Oh. It's the same book from before. Written by Akashi, right?" His eyes gleam with excitement and he nodded again, "He's my cousin."

It almost gave him a whiplash on how fast he had looked up in surprise.

"Akashi-kun is your cousin?" He couldn't believe that Akashi, his classmate in junior years, was related to the cheap bastard. Akashi is rich, after all.

"Yeah… shocking, ha?" The man said before his eyes widen and a small blush dusts his tan cheeks, "Oh yeah. Kagami Taiga, by the way. And you are?"

"Kuroko." He only replied.

It wasn't until he shivered when he realized they had been talking for hours on that one corner—Daiki and Sakurai-san forgotten in that time. He gave Kagami a small smile, his heart fluttering a little when the man exclaimed, "You finally smiled! Wow! You got a beautiful one."

They didn't stop talking then. It was almost eight when they did.

* * *

The next time he met Kagami was the one time he knocked the man's cup of chocolate and he adamantly refused to buy him another one because he never did when he first did so.

"That cup was expensive!" Kagami whined, looking at the cup lying on the sidewalk—the noises of the car and the people filled the silence between them as Kuroko only stared at the man to make his point.

"Man, you got to buy me something!" Kagami insisted and he scoffed, rolling his blue eyes.

"No." He replied, hissing and pointing at the bigger man, "You're a cheap bastard the first time we met. You knocked my own cup but you immediately declared that you won't buy me. Why would I buy one for you then?"

"Because—" But before Kagami could defend himself, a familiar voice filled the playful atmosphere between the two and he almost bolted had Kagami not been holding his shoulders to shake him into buying him his expensive cup of chocolate.

"Kuroko?" Daiki said in his name in the most casual of way that he almost wanted to throw a fit. He turned around and faced the man instead, his face paling at the sight. There they are holding each other's hand as if it was the rightest thing to do.

"Aomine-kun." He forced himself to say rather than the man's first name. Dai—Aomine nodded his head before walking away with a confused looking lover at his side.

The universe really hated him, he concluded as he brought his hands to his eyes, knowing that they're wet with tears. But he really wanted them to not fall but Kagami took him into a warm embrace and everything that he had kept in since the breakup fell from his eyes.

And he knew Kagami wouldn't understand why the sudden change in his mood because the man was an idiot but at least he's a comforting idiot.

But it was the last time he had cried over the idiot who broke his heart. Somehow, it will be alright after this.

* * *

Every time they met, one cup would be wasted. And they never really mean it to happen but it's like when their cup falls, it meant that the other was near or that he was the one to knock it over. It was really uncanny.

And it's not funny anymore because those cups are more expensive that they look—they only had the chance to take a sip or two before the universe got bored and knock it over like it's the most normal thing to do.

"I wonder…" He started and Kagami looked at him, they were sitting at the far end of the park at the usual time, and it became a routine of Kagami to stop his jog for an hour just to accompany the man—though he noticed that the coat just fit him right this time.

"What?" He asked, stretching his limbs.

"I wonder if the universe hated us so much it likes to waste the cup we had waited in a long line for…" His voice sounded serious but Kagami knew better and the man laugh out loud, boisterous in nature, "What if…"

Kagami's drawl caught Kuroko's attention and he turned his head to stare at the man.

"What if this is some kind of conspiracy of supernatural people who likes matchmaking too much?"

"You mean like destiny?" Kuroko asked, wide eyed. Kagami seriously nodded. It was silent in the park before it was invaded by laughter, one loud and carefree and the other quiet and reserve but happy.

The silence after that made them seriously consider the idea in secrecy.

* * *

It was four months now that they had known each other. And Kuroko was amused to see Akashi turn down the thought of Kagami being his cousin at a party that Akashi had held—an engagement party for him and Kouki.

He heard Kagami scoff, turning his nose up, commenting that maybe they really aren't because Akashi lacks the height that run in their bloodline. Akashi almost stabs the bigger man had it not for Kouki who gently took the scissor away from the deranged man.

"You look lonely here." He heard steps approach and he turned to see Kagami in his suave suit. Kuroko shrugged and said, "Maybe it only applies to cup of coffee or chocolate."

Kagami scrunched his brows together in confusion. Kuroko only raised his glass of wine and a slow realization settled in Kagami's deep red eyes.

He chuckled, "Maybe, you're right."

It was the most comfortable night he had in months as they talk to the wee of hours.

* * *

He changed his order for two weeks—bought himself a cappuccino instead of the black coffee with a hint of vanilla that he had since college.

He didn't see Kagami in those weeks.

* * *

Kagami scratched his head when the usual sight of the man walking down the street didn't appear for the past two weeks—it frustrated him so.

"You seem distracted." Himuro commented as he approached his brother who was staring restlessly outside the court before he smiled, "Ah, it's nine in the morning and Kuroko isn't walking there, ha."

Kagami discovered that Kuroko only sat at the bench during Thursday to Sunday and that the other days after he jogged to warm up for a game with his brother near the apartment and the fire station he worked at, Kuroko usually rounded the corner at exactly nine in the morning with a cup of coffee in his hand.

Kagami blushed bright red, "NO! Th—that's not it!"

He sputtered but Himuro only smiled before slamming the ball to Kagami's stomach leaving the idiot gasping, "Why'd ya do that?!"

"Because you're an idiot." Himuro shook his head in dismay.

* * *

He returned to his usual the very next day after two weeks.

"KUROKO!" He heard a familiar voice and he couldn't help but smile, turned around and spot a redhead running like a bullet his way.

It was nice to drink his usual again.

* * *

He was never a believer for destiny. Destiny sucks, by the way. But it seems like the universe likes conspiring against him and making his life a misery. He almost wonders why he was being pushed around by the universe like that but he forced himself to keep a straight face instead.

"How many times will you hit my cup before I end up hitting you?" Kuroko said flatly, looking at the cup on the ground with a deep sigh.

Kagami gave him the brightest grin.

"I don't know. How many times will I hit your cup until you figure out that I was hitting on you?"

Kuroko paused before shrugging, "It depends if you'll buy me a one-year supply of my coffee."

"Deal." Kagami said in a tone of amusement, taking the smaller hand to his own. It was almost like destiny when it fit perfectly with his before he shook his head at the sappy thought.

It took them both a year to finally stop dancing around and finally sat down on a café to get themselves both a cup of coffee.

 **FIN**

Remember the large coat at first? It was Aomine's and that's why it's too large for Kuroko.

Aomine left Kuroko for Sakurai and Sakurai knew nothing about Aomine's previous relationship.

Kagami is rich too, just so you know.

I might do a sequel about this one of these days.

Please drop a review. Thank you!


	2. Unrequited

**Title: And They Said It Was Love**

 **GENRE: Romance/General**

 **PAIRINGs: AkaFuri, KagaKuro, AoSaku, KiseMatsu (I decided that Kasamatsu-chan will be an uke! Hehehehe, if there's a tsundere seme then there should be a tsundere uke. No logic is no logic! XD), MuraMuro, MidoTaka and many more implied. :D**

 **Chapter 2:** Unrequited

 **Summary:** What's love that isn't heard, isn't felt, isn't notice at all? What's love that creeps behind like a fading shadow as sun rises? What's love that is borrowed and never returned? What's the difference between his love for him and the love he gave away? What's love without assurance and warmth? It's called unrequited.

 **Now Playing:** Leave Your Lover

Pairing: AoMine, One-sided AoSaku and KiseMatsu

* * *

"Where are you going, idiot?" He called.

And he shines, exudes such brightness that blinds him but still captures his heart. And he shakes the feeling of being eaten alive by the beauty that was him—run away from the honesty that writhes within his chest. He doesn't admit it much but he loves him and…

"Aominecchi and I are going on a date!"

He loves someone else.

And… and…

He rolled his eyes, "But of course."

And it hurts.

* * *

He's so strong, he thinks.

And he squeaks when he calls him his name and he tingles, his feelings suffocating him because he shouldn't feel that way. He shouldn't feel so special when his name was spoken by him. And he shouldn't expect much. And he shouldn't be in love with their ace because... because…

"I'm going out with Ryouta somewhere today, wanna come?"

Because… because…

"No, thank you, Aomine-san." He said, feeling his heart drops then breaks.

Because… because…

"Why not, Ryou?" He yawned tiredly, putting an arm around his shoulder. And he felt scared. Of his feelings. Of this hope. Of everything that is Aomine because it wasn't fair—love isn't fair.

Because the one person he loves most loves someone else.

* * *

In all honesty, he thinks he was the more idiotic between the two—even if he somehow christened the blond of the insult a long time ago. A desperate miserable idiot that clings to the hope that one day, in some miraculous way, Kise the idiot would wake up and fall in love with him too.

He could almost hear the old him kick him in the ass for being so weak and tethered and awfully, awfully in love—it made his skin crawl at the sheer pathetic state of his being. He wants to vomit everything out of his system—his feelings, his hopes, the images of the cheerful blond, the memories, he wants to be free of the things that bonded him to desperation.

Kise will never know the pain of unrequitedness because somehow he has it all. And Kasamatsu could only put his arms above his eyes as he lies on his bed as he wonders if the idiot is still out on his date at this late hour.

* * *

Aomine would always be the pattering rain on his window—the chilling wind on winter days—the glaring sun during summer—the things that are bad for him that he lets in his life as though an oxygen to his very lungs.

It wasn't much of an obsession—just a permanent affection that clang to his heart and refuses to let go, much like the last leaf during autumn—too stubborn to let nature makes its magic. And he had to shake his head many times to help himself in the tediousness of his situation.

It does not work—it never works.

He was stuck at the very base of the ocean that he created out of his love for the pattering rain, for the chilling wind, for the glaring sun, for all the things that are bad for him that he lets in his life, for the air he cannot live without.

Sakurai would never tell Aomine how much he loves him so—never even comparing the depth of his affection from the height of Kise's own feelings. He would always be that one man who fell in love with somebody's love—the pathetic one, the one that never got away from the heaviness that love could bring.

* * *

Kasamatsu stared at the broad back of his kohai, his hand unconsciously reaching out to touch the man in front of him before he caught himself and his delusions and he drops his arm just as Kise turned to look at him curiously.

He smiled in reassurance, getting his footing on the ground once more as he pushed the chirpy blond towards the dark skinned boy waiting for him outside.

"You're not angry?" Kise asked, surprised at his sempai's outlandish attitude. And Kasamatsu only chuckled quietly, eyes shadowed by the things that he hid so well, "Go on, idiot, it's your anniversary today. Why would I want to ruin it?"

But he wanted to—he really wanted to. But if it meant taking those precious smiles off Kise's face, he rather stays quiet in his blues.

"You sure?" Golden eyes bore at his form and Kasamatsu almost asks him to stay, to choose him over Aomine, to love him as much as he does but he only gave him a sharp look instead and a firm, wrapped in pretense, reply, "Yes, I'm sure."

He nearly takes back his word had he not seen the happiness overflowing from Kise's eyes.

* * *

He is someone that is plain looking—he bore the epitome of normal in the brown of his eyes and hair and the paleness of his skin as if the melting of snow reveals soft brown soil underneath. He was anything but special.

Kise was someone that is born in gold—he wore the crown of beauty as if he was meant for it. His eyes were the hue of the sun that radiates its warmth and his hair was spindled out of the riches from many kings' treasure chests, painted carefully to achieve such perfection. He was anything but ordinary.

He wasn't confident in anything he does—he shies away from things that requires being in the spotlight.

Kise was the spotlight himself.

He was someone meant to be in the crowd while Kise was someone meant to awe the crowd.

They were polar opposite in the biggest sense of everything. He lacks everything that Kise has—it made him scratch at his own skin, wished that he was someone else, dreamt of being someone that Aomine could love.

But he wonders if he could be the person Aomine could have loved even if he lacks the things that he found beautiful in Kise. He wonders and wonders and wonders the possibility of the madness of his delusions.

* * *

I love you. I love you. I love you.

He bits his tongue to hold the racing thought in his mind and kicks the taller man in the shin instead just to capture a semblance of normality again, "Shut up, idiot. You're making my head spin."

Kise pouted, "But Kasamatsucchi! You're going to graduate soon! We have to celebrate!"

Kasamatsu only shook his head and huffed, "Why don't you go waste your time with that bastard boyfriend of yours and stop bothering me?"

"Mou! You're such a prude!" Kise exclaimed before his eyes drops to the ground, a small sad smile painting his lips, "You're going to leave soon… won't you miss me?"

His heart skips a beat and the racing of his thoughts grew louder and louder. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you.

He bits his tongue once more instead and flicked the middle of Kise's forehead, "Who would miss a bratty kid like you?"

He gave a kind smile and saw the golden orbs brighten once more.

Kise knew what he meant then.

* * *

Sakurai walked in the empty gym of their school—it was the first time he had ever seen it so hollow.

He gingerly treads the floor, quiet as a cat in his steps.

"I love you." His voice echoed just as quietly and he imagined Aomine there in his basketball uniform, listening to whatever he has to say, but the only thing that he really wanted to tell him was the repetition of his heart and the drumming of his chest, "I love you."

A tear slid down his brown eyes—one patter then two then the falling pieces of his heart fell so carelessly on his pale cheeks, heavy and miserable in their wake.

If only… if only…

"I love you."

If only…

"I love you."

"Ryou?" He turned around to see the reason why he was breaking apart. Aomine frowned at the tearstained face of his awfully shy friend, the tiny form of Sakurai being swallowed by the shadows of the empty gym, almost as if he was bidding goodbye, "Why… why are you crying?"

"I… I…" love you.

If only…

"Ryou?" He heard his name again and he felt his heart flatter before shattering at his feet. He smiled weakly at the man before him and the tears in his eyes only fell harder, he felt himself fading away, giving up.

"Aomine-san…" His voice was quiet but the echo of the gym reached the man's ears. He would never say them out loud or in front of Aomine until his chest pounded so badly that words came pouring out of his quivering mouth, "I love you."

He saw the lethargic man's eyes widen a fraction before a thin line spread on his tanned face and the turning of Aomine's head to the side destroyed the things that he held on to before the echo reach his ears.

"I love Kise."

He smiled in the stillness of the place before taking a step back and for a moment, Aomine was scared that the shadows did take Sakurai away.

"I know."

I love you.

If only he could hear Aomine say those words too.

* * *

Kasamatsu stared out of the train's window deep in his thought.

He held his diploma in his hands and his bags over his head. He thinks it was cowardly to disappear just like that on Kise but he knew if he see the blond once more, he would not have the courage to leave him be.

He would fight for him to the very end even if he is fighting a losing battle—he would end up hurt even more than he is now and he knew that he would hurt Kise somehow too. It would be an endless case of broken heart, and knowing himself, pain would not deter him from loving him more and more.

He wouldn't be able to pull out anymore from what his heart cling so stubbornly unto.

"So… goodbye." He said in the silence of the train and a smile blossomed on his face as he got farther and farther away from his desperation.

Kise stood at the train station he saw Kasamatsu enter and left.

Golden eyes that Kasamatsu loves so much dimmed in his wake and Kasamatsu would never see the tears that fall from those lovely orbs. And he would never know he was the cause of it. He would never witness the sunshine raining so hard.

Because he would never see Kise again—not for a long run of the clock anyway.

* * *

Sakurai lies in his bed and closes his eyes, the pattering of the rain loud in his ear.

Finally… finally…

Another tear escape his closed eyes before his breathing even out.

Finally… finally….

"Aomine-san…"

And then finally everything stood so still in the quiet room—not a sound could be heard inside, not his breath, not his tears, and not the lack of heartbeats within a soundless motionless chest.

Finally.

Fin…

I regret nothing, bitches. I regret nothing. Well, okay, I really want to break AoKise up but what's the point of the whole story, ha?

The summary was a quote in a novel that I was writing—I only replaced some pronouns. Anyway, review?


	3. If You See Kouki

**Title:** If You See Kouki

 **Pairing:** AkaFuri

 **Summary:** When people see Kouki, they had a penchant for telling him they love him because a certain captain told them to do so. And Akashi was never a man you want to mess with, especially if he is a murderous captain in love.

* * *

The first time it had happened, Furihata had refused to believe it was true. Knowing his teammates and especially Kuroko, he knew that he was being teased again.

A month after the Winter Cup, Kuroko discovered his unusual fascination with his former murderous captain, Akashi Seijuurou, and had taken a penchant on teasing him endlessly causing him to blush and lose his focus more than usual.

But it was seven months after that fateful night of discovery now and Kuroko should have been tired now with all his teasing and his subtle pushing towards Akashi whenever the team had practice matches with Rakuzan.

However, he blushed in embarrassment as Kuroko appeared out of nowhere and spoke so lowly that only he could hear, "I love you, says Akashi-kun."

He might have missed all his shots after that.

* * *

The second time it happened, he dropped his mother's precious vase on the floor making him wince at the loud shattering it caused around the house. His mouth dropped open at the man in front of him, brown eyes wide in startle.

He looked at the golden orbs that stared brightly at him before his gaze shifted to a pair of steely blue ones that frown more likely at the exuberant blond rather than him.

Kise's smile doesn't waver at the silent Seirin player, even having the gall to repeat what he had said a couple minutes ago the second Furihata had opened the door to his home.

"I love you, says Akashicchi!"

If he had another vase, he was sure he would drop it again and maybe earn him a lifetime of house arrest for his heinous act—as he was sure his mother would say when she sees the imported vases she likes to collect on the ground, shattered beyond repair.

* * *

He tripped on his two feet the third time it happened. He wasn't even up when large hands grab the back of his shirt and he was face with a purple giant. He gulped at the laziness of the gaze and he almost swears that he was going to be eaten had Himuro not scolded the big baby to let him down.

"What?" He had asked in bewilderment. He looked around to see his teammates had stopped playing as well to observe the spectacle in the middle of the court.

Murasakibara huffed in slight irritation, "I love you, says Akashi."

He was probably blushing from head to toe when Kuroko gave a quiet snicker behind him.

* * *

He didn't blink anymore when Sakurai had approached him, smiling at him kindly, while Aomine had yawned tiredly behind him.

"What are you doing here, Ryou-kun?" He asked, though the fluttering in his stomach might have given him a clue anyway.

"Daiki wants to say something to you." Sakurai had stepped to the side, leaving Aomine's large built open to him and he promptly stepped back when Aomine had approached. He wonders how Sakurai could have gotten over being so nervous around Aomine.

"Akashi…" Aomine started, unsure if he wants to continue, he glance at Sakurai briefly but Furihata didn't miss the stare, a smile gracing his lips at the concern flashing in the indigo orbs of the ace, "He wants to say… 'I love you'."

His smile is more likely because of Aomine's hesitance to say 'I love you' to anybody else that was not Sakurai but the pounding in his chest is most likely because he hopes that the indirect confession was true.

* * *

"I love you." Green eyes peered down on him and the laugh that followed the shooter's declaration gave away Takao's presence from the nearby bush.

"From Akashi?"He asked, unsurely. The seriousness in Midorima's voice had him thinking that the green haired Shutuko player really is confessing to him. And he wouldn't want to be murdered by his good friend for stealing Midorima from him. God knows what runs in Takao's head whenever someone confessed to his lover—it was enough reason for him to stay head over heels in love with the Rakuzan captain when Takao had let them in his head once when he and Kuroko happened to chance upon him in a café sulking three months ago.

Midorima paused before a slow blush blossomed on his face and before long, he felt his face heat up as well.

"Yes." He confirmed before leaving him in the park to tend to his own blush.

* * *

He was at the middle of shooting when he heard an undeniably familiar voice, the slight hesitance in his form cause the ball to miss its shot and for him to stiffen when the voice came closer.

"Have you seen Kouki?" The smooth voice told him that he knew where he was but Akashi, in the following months that he came to know the captain, was as teasing as Kuroko, worse even if he had to be honest. He heard his captain shake his head more than anything and he knew it was a conspiracy.

And the dawning realization had him opening his mouth to form a quiet, "Oh!"

"Oh." It was a simple response from the red haired and he hoped it was the end of it, "Then if you see Kouki, would you tell him that I love him."

He turned around in quick motion that he almost got himself dizzy but the moment he had adjusted himself, he came face to face with a smirking porcelain face, eyes staring down on him though they barely have any height differences.

"Akashi-kun." He heard himself say, unconsciously stepping closer to Akashi when the boy cup his cheeks gently, smirk softening into a soft smile.

"Have you seen Kouki?" The question that had been asked countless times in the last couple of months in their gym bounded his ears again and his eyes that had been looking at the ground in shyness, looked up and saw the gentleness of Akashi's eyes.

He guessed he should play along as well to the game that Akashi had set up months ago.

"No. He's probably somewhere around being confessed to through people." He said, an urge to tease the man after everything came rushing to his vein. He knew he would pay for it once he reverted back to the coward Chihuahua, everyone seems to dub him fondly, that he is.

"Really?" Akashi softly let out a gasp in mock surprise before settling into a gentle smile once more, "Then if you see Kouki, would you tell him I love him."

It wasn't much like the first time that had him disbelieving or like the second that had him surprise nor the third that had him tripping or the fourth that left him almost nonchalant at the occurrence or the fifth that made him unsure in its misunderstanding or the hundreds confession following him everywhere he goes after the last one.

The three hundred sixty five times it had happened, he doesn't have a hard time believing it anymore.

Fin!

For AkaFuri Day. :* but I posted it a little earlier for the little 'party' organized by the CAFEIN. I hope you all like it! Please drop a review!

And yes, If You See Kay by The Script made that happen at seven in the morning.


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